30232: Leiderman (followup): 'appreciate development dialogue, thank you (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leiderman@mindspring.com


20 March 2007

dear Readers:

I received encouraging private replies to my recent posts about aid agencies and contractors, Diaspora participation, alternative development paths, etc.  among them was a clariying note from Timothy Aston in Haiti, of Development Altenatives, Inc. [DAI] that I appreciated and to whom I responded, as below.  I also asked for and received Mr. Aston's permission to post his note.

this is all in the spirit of cooperation, transparency, communication and wider participation in Haiti's development future.  maybe it will bear fruit.

thank you,

Stuart Leiderman
leiderman@mindspring.com

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From: Timothy_Aston@dai.com
Sent: Mar 20, 2007 7:43 AM
To: leiderman@mindspring.com
Cc: mmartin@usaid.gov, adeprez@usaid.gov
Subject: your recent post re USAID programs on corbett

Hi Stuart,

Your information on how USAID contracts and grants is a bit limited.  The hours limitations on the RFPS you refer to our expat hrs purposely limited to ensure larger numbers of Haitian technicians work the projects.  USAID staff and contractors are expressly forbidden from flying business class, etc etc.  As for the Gonaive program CARE won an open bid with PADF and CHF for 22 million.  You should come see some of the work accomplished.  DAI won a bid on a 9.2 million reconstruction program for irrigation systems from Basin Bleu to PDP and the old ODPG system in Gonaives .

As a result farmer are now operating their systems and making significant money on higher value crops for the local market.  DAI (www.dai.com) is not a development contractor not an engineering firm.

hope this helps clarify things a bit

Cheers

T. S. Aston
Chief of Party
HAP/HJRP
tel.  509-245-2181
509-511-0397

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From: leiderman@mindspring.com
Sent: Mar 20, 2007 12:55 PM
To: Timothy_Aston@dai.com
Cc: mmartin@usaid.gov, adeprez@usaid.gov
Subject: acknowledged, working for Haiti

20 March 2007

Timothy S. Aston
Chief of Party
HAP/HJRP
Development Alternatives Inc.
Haiti
tel.  509-245-2181  509-511-0397

dear Mr. Aston:

thank you for writing to clarify the situation.  I very much appreciate your explanation of the role of those such as USAID, DAI and CARE in Haiti, and I thank you for your invitation to visit DAI projects.  I would like to do that.

also, thanks for monitoring Bob Corbett's Haiti discussion list.  may I post your private reply to me on Bob's list?  if so, it will be purely as an unbiased explanatory note to help everyone better understand DAI's presence in Haiti.  or you could post something there yourself.  or I could simply summarize your clarifications, and state my appreciation for your response.  just let me know, because your reply sheds light on the matter.

I am aware that a huge level of effort among Americans and Haitians have been going on for a long time in Haiti.  I have personally documented millions of dollars, thousands of people's involvement and hundreds of NGO's working in and for Haiti, just in the fields of humanitarian assistance and environmental protection alone.  and I was glad to see the two recent USAID contract announcements that were very much more comprehensive and sustainability-oriented than previous announcements.  that's a good sign.  is DAI bidding on them?

1.  WHERE'S THE EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS IN HAITI?

however, I wonder if you agree that much more needs to be done right away to show Americans and Haitians alike the actual evidence of progress in Haiti?  the conventional understanding is that Haiti is a basket case from which Haitian have no escape.  there needs to be an alternative view.  for USAID, DAI and others, I really think there is a big communications problem that is retarding progress among Americans and Haitians.  I hear questions all time, such as,

"Why is USAID's Haiti website -- and those of its big contractors -- so often out of date and lacking in detail?"

"What are the names and contact information of all the contractor and subcontractros?  where they are working? what are their goals and objectives and timetables?  how much is it costing?  what are the results, etc.?"

"Why doesn't USAID have a publicly-accessible online annual reporting process for contractors and agencies?"

"Why isn't there an annual public congress of contractors and NGO's working in Haiti?  at least those who are USAID-sponsored ought to convene to report and assess progress and problems, to enlist expanded help from Haitians and other partners abroad?"

"Where is the overall 'scoresheet' on Haiti that shows the benefits accruing from American tax money and the hard work of Haitian citizens?"

"Where is USAID's "online scrapbook" about Haiti that shows all the funded activities, the costs, the benefits, the grassroots involvement, etc.?"

"Why can't Haitian-American organizations, European funders and others simply review a online report of aid intervention in Haiti, as a kind of menu, to motivate them to fit into the picture with their own talent and resources?  in other words, 'Who's in charge?'"

2.  HOW IS FOREIGN AID TO HAITI DIFFERENT NOW FROM 20 YEARS AGO?

certainly, contractors like DAI and CARE already have their hands full with jobs to do on the front lines, but does it relieve them of the responsibility to fully communicate with the public?  after all, these are contracts for work in the public sector, not contracts for private companies.  so why shouldn't there be an open development process in Haiti, particularly when there are more than 2 million in Haiti's diaspora ready and available to accelerate and evaluate the process and to care for the improvements -- engineering works, forests, water and sanitation facilities, hospitals, etc. -- once the work is done, rather than let them fall into ruin after a few years.  even international bodies such as OECD has acknowledge this development failure and called for major reconsiderations of the whole business of foreign aid.

3.  WHERE ARE THE HAITIAN CASE STUDIES?

because my line of work concerns environmental refugees and ecological restoration of damaged homelands, I have been particular interested in DAI's ambitious work around the world in post-conflict situations such as the marshlands of southern Iraq, and post-disaster situations such as Gonaives, Haiti.  for Gonaives, especially because storm disasters could revisit Gonaives or another major city at any time, I think it would be to both USAID's and DAI's advantage to issue a comprehensive report -- including financials, labor data, housing, resettlement, engineering works, etc. -- on what has been done in the city and watershed over the past few years to make the area less vulnerable to disaster and what lessons learned are being applied elsewhere in the country.  I have not been to Gonaives, but visitors have told me that they do not see improvements and that it seems that no one has been moved out of harm's way.  what reports can you provide, online or privately, showing the nature of the work and the improvements and lessened vulnerability to the next hurricane?

4.  WHERE IS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN HAITI'S DEVELOPMENT PROCESS?

as I work with a number of well-respected and capable Haitian organizations here in the States and am constantly trying to match their talents and resources with projects in Haiti, it would be a pleasure to continue to correspond with you about how Haitians abroad could better understand and participate and invest in Haiti's development process, alongside USAID and its contractors.

as an example, I'm attaching the proposal of The Haitian League for a first annual Haitian NGO Congress.  I'm sure the League would welcome the funding, presence and contribution of facts and reports from DAI, USAID and partners in such an effort.

yours,

Stuart Leiderman
leiderman@mindspring.com

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From: Timothy_Aston@dai.com
To: leiderman@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: acknowledged, working for Haiti
Date: Mar 20, 2007 12:18 PM

Stuart,

no problem with you posting my email.  I am an old in-and-out of haiti hand (my first tour in Haiti was 1968).  I have monitored  Corbett for last 6 years,  simply don't ahve time to post.  I am currently going flat out to close USAID's hillside Agriculture progrma (HAP).  When I get back to the states I will  take a shot at answering some of your questions.  What is your connection to/interest in Haiti?

Cheers
Tim
T. S. Aston
Chief of Party
HAP/HJRP
tel.  509-245-2181
      509-511-0397

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